How do you save on monthly outgoings?

Glaucus · 9 Jul 2007 at 21:26

I can't do much yet, but when My phone and a few other contracts are up, I'm thinking of trying to cut my outgoings substantially to save for a house, or simply be able to afford a mortgage that would cost more than my current rent.

One thing is you can get mobile phones for nothing on a cash back option, although the phones aren't the the newest, I could save £30 a month here.

Another is to downgrade from Telewest to freeview TV.

But how do you guys keep your monthly bills as low as possible.

Do things like energy saving light bulbs actually affect your elec bill more than a few pence.

Do things like cash back credit cards, give you a substantial amount?

So what tips and tricks have you acquired to keep costs down?

Judge Mortis · 9 Jul 2007 at 21:28

If you are a beer fan ...... cut down or give it up for a bit. It's frightening how much you save.

Darkwave · 9 Jul 2007 at 21:28

We just went on a huge savings mission. Energy saving lightbulbs, switching suppliers for everything from internet/TV to gas and electric etc. I think the main place we saved on though was food, we figured we used to buy far, far too much food that we never actually got around to eating and decided to start making shopping lists then sticking to them. Quitting smoking also seems to help save a lot for some people.

Jambo · 9 Jul 2007 at 21:30

I prefer to be more proactive and positive by looking for ways to increase my income. It's more fun.

Monkey Puzzle · 9 Jul 2007 at 21:31

Electricity saving will cut down on costs quite a bit - turning things off at the mains and turning lights off etc.

lee32uk · 9 Jul 2007 at 21:31

Shop at Aldi

Dreadi · 9 Jul 2007 at 21:32

If i stopped going out every weekend and getting off my face drunk i'd save £100 quid give or take a bit a week so if you drink, dont!

Scam · 9 Jul 2007 at 21:34

I rang T-Mobile today and got my price plan cut from ~£30 to £15. Next on my list is my £25/month contacts-by-post from D&A. I figure i dont wear them enough to warrant fortnightlies, so i might see if i can change to dailies.

Loki · 9 Jul 2007 at 21:34

Try and stay out of long term deals for anything. Gives you more freedom to shop around. We were with British Gas for Gas & Electricity and ended up saving the best part of £60.00 a month. Don't be afraid to ask for discounts. Same with Sky TV.

We switched from them to Virginmedia. So for what I was paying for Sky, BT Line Rental and AOL it was the best part of £90.00 a month. Moved to VM and we now pay £65.00 for the full package. So we save money without compromising our quality of life.

Also we do our shopping online now. So we don't put un-necessary things in the basket. Prob saved about £120.00-£130.00 a month by shopping around.

The biggest dis-incentive is if you cut down on your spending but you reduce your quality of life drastically as there is no immediate benefit. Don't forget to treat yourself every now and then. Life's too short to be constantly saving for tomorrow

Glaucus · 9 Jul 2007 at 21:40

yep, Making a shopping list, would be good for me.

I am looking for a new job, but I'm not going to do a job I hate just for more money. Been there done that, never again.

Realistically I'm going to need to save around £250-300 from my current monthly expenditure. Although A mortgage deal is likely only to be around 150-200 a month more than my rent. The bills would go up as I would be buying on my own.

Beer is my downfall, however it's a big part of my life, so I might try cutting down on the amount I drink on a night out, But I can't stop drinking. I like it to much and it's a big part of my social life.

Dreadi · 9 Jul 2007 at 21:42

AcidHell2 said:
Beer is my downfall, however it's a big part of my life, so I might try cutting down on the amount I drink on a night out, But I can't stop drinking. I like it to much and it's a big part of my social life.

Seriously, before i got into the current state of mind im in i would never go out in town and drink. Now, situations change and im spending £100 a weekend on getting trashed so it seriously is a good way to save. I know its anti social and all but maybe drink cans at home before going out, i may have to start doing this myself...

Gonzo0 · 9 Jul 2007 at 21:43

Dare i say it.....dont go on your power hungry computers :eek:

Glaucus · 9 Jul 2007 at 21:46

Gonzo0 said:
Dare i say it.....dont go on your power hungry computers

actually, that is one thing I've been thinking about. I need to get one of those plugs which tell you how many KMH your using.

alexakasloth · 9 Jul 2007 at 21:49

Your thinking along the lines of what you do everyday which is good, what do you usually eat?

LordSplodge · 9 Jul 2007 at 21:53

Drink less and that should help. No point living like a nun though is there?

Shop @ Lidl or Aldi as their food is good quality and cheaper.

Get a pay as you go Mobile.

Ditch the pay TV.

TURN ELECTRICAL ITEMS OFF!

Switch car, home, life insurance and so on...

How much you want to save depends on the lowest standard of living you can put up with and how much willpower you have. :eek:

mysticsniper · 9 Jul 2007 at 21:56

I don't leve electrical appliances on stand-by any more. I agree with making a shopping list and then sticking to it.

Also I have switched to Option 1 with BT and contacted Vodafone, and cheekly asked them for more mins on current deal, they gave me 150 extra texts and 50 mins call time

I switch my credit cards as well,and get the interest free deal for 12 months.

schnipps · 9 Jul 2007 at 22:04

Just done this massively as we have a flat now, just bought a house and the mortgage is double, i have literally got rid of all outgoings that are not essential. Phone has gone and went to PAYG, paid of student loan, got rid of gym membership and loads of other stuff and just stopped take aways aswell in favour of cooking.

alexakasloth · 9 Jul 2007 at 22:05

Though don't switch too often, according to my team leader at work this can affect your credit record.

William · 9 Jul 2007 at 22:08

AcidHell2 said:
I need to get one of those plugs which tell you how many KMH your using.

Don't buy worthless crap.

I think I read energy saving light bulbs save a huge huge huge huge increadbily HUGE amount of money, I figured it at somthing stupid like £500 a year in our house.

Glaucus · 9 Jul 2007 at 22:09

LordSplodge said:
Drink less and that should help. No point living like a nun though is there?

yep, I am planning to cut down, I don't drink Sunday to monday anyway. but i can spend £80 + on a normal night out. So I should be able to cut that down to £30 If I buy cheap drinks and stop buying rounds (I drink to fast = more rounds paid for by me)

LordSplodge said:
Shop @ Lidl or Aldi as their food is good quality and cheaper.

Aldi have just opened a shop up, near my work, so I will def give that a try, Currently shop at sainsburys and apart from cereal and bread, I cook most things from scratch.

LordSplodge said:
Get a pay as you go Mobile.

I'm going to get a cash back contract, that way over the year I spend £0

, But still got about 6months left on mine :rolleyes:

LordSplodge said:
Ditch the pay TV.

Yep def thinking about this, or at least ditching phone line as we dont use it.

LordSplodge said:
TURN ELECTRICAL ITEMS OFF!

Does anyone actually tested with a electricity monitor and worked out how many KWH a month they save by doing this?

LordSplodge said:
Switch car, home, life insurance and so on...

I'm going to cancel my life insurance, I dont need it, it's only £6 a month, but it's something.

car is a annoying. Usually I only need a small rubbish car, but I probably do 1 long trip a month taking friends, so I have a big saloon, the spare parts are exspensive and it drinks fuel. Not sure If I can do much as I can't afford a new car. Unless I can buy something, with the money I can sell that one for.

LordSplodge said:
How much you want to save depends on the lowest standard of living you can put up with and how much willpower you have.

yep, At the moment I'm thinking of practical solutions, that will save money that wont affect living standards and see how much I can save just doing that, then maybe taking it further.

does anyone use cash back credit cards, or online sites that save them money?

William said:
Don't buy worthless crap.

I think I read energy saving light bulbs save a huge huge huge huge increadbily HUGE amount of money, I figured it at somthing stupid like £500 a year in our house.

Maybe for a mansion, I can't see it being that much, I agree with the worthless crap, But I don't want to change things, if it's going to save me 20p a year and inconvenience me. If however it saves me a few £ a month, then it's worth the inconvenience.